ASK TOM WHY.

Dear Tom, What city in the Southern Hemisphere has a...

September 24, 2003|By Tom Skilling, chief meteorologist at WGN-TV.

Dear Tom,

What city in the Southern Hemisphere has a climate like Chicago's?

Stan Murdowski

Dear Stan,

Love it or hate it, Chicago's climate has no counterpart in the Southern Hemisphere. It's strictly a matter of geography. Chicago's climate, characterized by hot summers and cold winters, is a result of its location toward the interior of North America, far from the moderating influence of the oceans. The continental interior heats strongly in the summer and arctic air sweeps south in the winter.

Comparable geography and meteorology do not exist in the Southern Hemisphere. The land masses of South America, Africa and Australia lie too near the Equator to experience cold winters, and cold air sweeping north from Antarctica reaches the narrow southward extension of South America only after being moderated by transit across oceans.

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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His weather forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN News at noon and 9 p.m.